


The Spirit Lake

by therealtortilla



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: Gen, Horror, M/M, Mild Language, Paranormal, but not really that scary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-10-21
Packaged: 2018-02-07 18:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1909596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealtortilla/pseuds/therealtortilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lou Pearlman sticks the five Backstreet Boys in an isolated house in the Middle of Nowhere, North Dakota for five days, because he thinks they need bonding time. What Lou doesn't know is the cursed property he deserts them on was illegally built on an American-Indian Reservation right above a burial ground. It doesn't take the Boys long to realize something isn't right with the house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my attempt at writing 'horror.' The humor and stupidity of the result probably heavily outweighs the horror aspect but hopefully it induces one or two uncomfortable feelings at best. It isn't based on the relationship of Kevin/AJ. Their love is thrown in there for my personal enjoyment and because every scary story needs an unnecessary sex scene/romance.

 

Lou Pearlman had shoved the five of them in some house about 100 miles north of Fargo, North Dakota because he said they needed isolation in order to bond.

Kevin made sure Lou knew that that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard, but Nick was too busy asking Lou if the house had a pool for Lou to pay any attention to the eldest Backstreet Boy.

“North Dakota? Isn't that, like, basically Canada?” AJ pointed out.

“It's going to be cold,” Howie said.

“It's summer, guys, it won't be that cold,” Brian told them. “At least I don't think so.”

“It will be just like a vacation,” Lou said.

 

* * *

 

 

“There's a McLean county in North Dakota,” AJ pointed out excitedly to Kevin on his road map as they drove past probably the thousandth farm Kevin had seen since they were picked up from the airport. “Why aren't we going there instead? I bet it's way cooler than wherever-the-fuck we're headed.”

“No other McLean could possibly be as cool as you,” Kevin said, taking the map out of AJ's hands and examining it.

“No Richardson or Littrell counties?” Brian asked from behind Kevin.

“No. North Dakota seems pretty Scottish overall.”

“Ya bet yer asses it is,” AJ said in a Scottish accent.

“What do people do in North Dakota?” Howie asked from AJ's other side.

“Fuck all,” Kevin replied.

“Oh.”

“Are there even cities here, besides the one our plane landed in?” Brian asked.

“Don't think so,” Kevin replied. He addressed the driver, “Ay, Mark, how many more miles til we get there?”

“About another forty, Mr. Richardson,” the old man responded.

AJ groaned and slumped against Kevin. Kevin gently massaged AJ's leg, and the rest of the guys fell quiet for a while, listening to the little 8-bit sounds coming off Nick's hand held game and peering out at the never-changing scenery.

 

“Yo, look, 125 miles 'til the Canadian border,” Nick pointed out, taking to looking out the window since his game's battery had died.

 

“Devils Lake,” Kevin said, as they drove past another road sign. “That's where we're staying.”

“Devils Lake. Brian won't like that,” AJ commented.

 

Howie and Brian had fallen asleep by the time they arrived at the address. They were a good five miles from the main part of town, Kevin noticed, and he sure hoped they wouldn't need groceries or anything.

Kevin examined the emergency contacts Lou's personal assistant had written down on a piece of paper for him. On the paper, it was mentioned that there was a 24-hour gas station a half-mile up the road from where they were staying if they needed anything. However, their food pantry, toiletries, entertainment center, and first aid kit were all fully stocked, and they shouldn't need anything for the week they would be staying there.

Nick woke Howie by flicking him over the nose.

“Hey...,” Howie whined.

“Brian, we're here,” Kevin said, gently nudging his cousin awake.

AJ had already crawled over Howie's lap and out of the car.

“This place blows,” he decided immediately upon looking at the house.

“There a pool?” Nick asked, climbing out after him and slipping his game into his pocket. Brian and Howie began unloading their luggage from the car.

“No, but there's a lake – look over there,” Kevin pointed. Nick looked over while AJ headed for the house. “Wonder if there's fishin'.”

The lake, which stretched as far as the boys could see in any direction, reflected the sun-soaked pink sky. There was a small tattered dock with a broken boat attached on the house's property. There wasn't another neighboring house for a quarter mile.

“Is that the Devil Lake?” Nick asked.

“I imagine so,” Kevin said.

“It's huge! I can't even see the other side. It looks like the Devil. All red and stuff.”

AJ shuffled back to the car and took the key to the front door from Kevin. He picked up his luggage and jogged back to the porch.

“I'm gonna get the best room, slowpokes,” he cantered, hopping up the steps and unlocking the door.

The house from the outside was a log cabin, which brought back fond memories to Kevin, who had grown up in one similar to this. It was two stories and seemed large enough to house the five boys.

The rest of the boys, except Kevin, who stood back to say goodbye to their driver and thank him for the transportation, followed AJ in.

AJ had found the lights for the foyer, and the boys were delighted to see the shiny oak floors and rich Persian carpets lining the hall. Overall, the home seemed old but updated with the latest technology and tastefully decorated.

“This place isn't so bad,” AJ changed his mind, glancing around and heading for the living room. Spotting the huge 48” plasma screen hanging on the wall above a fireplace, he added, “Yeah, I think I'll survive here for a week.”

Nick started to sneak off toward the stairs, but AJ saw him, and tore after him.

“No, you don't! I'm choosing my room first, boy!” he yelled, and the both of them scrambled up the stairs.

Howie, more resigned, sighed and followed them up.

Brian went straight into the kitchen to see what was in the cupboards so he could prepare a nice dinner for the five of them. He was pleased at the kitchen's spaciousness – it even had a hibachi grill, which he highly doubted he would use in the five days they were to be here. He opened the humongous refrigerator and smiled, pulling out the salmon as soon as he spotted it. He hoped everyone was in the mood for fish tonight.

He felt someone tap his shoulder, and he turned around, expecting to see Kevin, but no one was there. He turned around in circles a few more times, wondering if maybe Nick had played a trick on him, but once again, he saw no one. He must've imagined it.

That was it. He was really tired after that long drive.

Still, he could've sworn....

“Hey, cous,” Kevin greeted, wandering into the kitchen. “Need some help?”

“Yeah, sure, Kev. Just preparin' this fish. Wanna see if there's any vegetables you can boil? Carrots and peas?”

“Sounds good,” Kevin said, padding over to the fridge to look inside.

“Hey,” Brian added, the thought just occurring to him, “you lock the front door?”

“Yeah,” Kevin said, pulling out a bag of frozen peas, “I did. Why?”

Brian shrugged. “Just wondering.”

 

Kevin had put some potatoes in the oven by the time AJ and Nick walked in.

“Hey, there's only four bedrooms,” AJ announced. “One of us is gonna have to share, and it ain't gonna be me.”

“Or me!” Nick added.

“It's okay. Me and Kev will bunk up, right, cuz?” Brian said.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Good, because I'm plannin' on whacking off every night, whether or not another dude is in the bed next to me.”

“That's kinda gay, dawg,” Nick said, and AJ swatted at him.

Kevin blushed and focused on steaming the vegetables.

“Where's Howie?” Brian asked.

“Sleeping, what do you think?” AJ asked, sidling up to Kevin. “Whatcha makin'?”

“Salmon, baked potatoes, and veggies,” Brian told him.

“Any dessert?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, Brian's prepared a whole pie on top of the salmon in the half hour we've been here,” Kevin said, trying to ignore how close AJ was to him.

“Yes!” Nick exclaimed, Kevin's sarcasm unheeded.

“If you want dessert, you go ahead and make some for all of us,” Brian said.

“But I thought you – oh,” Nick said, face dropping as he realized he wasn't getting pie tonight.

There was a loud crash in the living room, and the four men jumped all at once.

“The hell?” AJ gasped.

“Howie?” Kevin called, worried. He and AJ hurried into the other room while Brian stayed to tend the stove and Nick to raid the pantry for Oreos.

“Oh, you've GOT to be fucking kidding me!” AJ cried out, throwing his hands up as he was met with the sight.

“What was it?” Brian asked from the other room.

“The TV,” Kevin called back. “It, um, fell. Somehow. Not really sure....”

He and AJ approached, glancing wildly around the room for the source of the TV's murder.

“It couldn't have just fallen on its own,” Kevin said, frowning as he stepped up to it. The screen was in shards on the carpet, and Kevin pressed AJ back warningly. “Careful, glass everywhere. Go put on your shoes and find me a broom or something.”

Kevin picked up the backing of the television and set it upright against the wall, and more glass clunked out of it onto the ground.

“Maybe it was an earthquake, or somethin' that none of us felt? Just enough to rattle it off the wall,” Kevin thought as AJ came back in the room, “Does North Dakota get earthquakes?”

“Now what the hell am I gonna do for a week,” AJ bemoaned, handing Kevin the dust pan while he swept up the glass with a broom he'd found in one of the closets.

“You can come fishin' with me tomorrow,” Kevin said, “if I manage to find a tackle box in this house.”

AJ wrinkled his nose. “No, thanks.”

“Maybe you and Nick could go swimming....”

“In 'Devils Lake?' Doesn't sound all that appealing, Kev.”

“Well – maybe there's another TV in the house somewhere.”

“Maybe,” AJ said, setting the broom against the wall and opening up the entertainment center beside the fireplace. “God, I sure hope there is. Look at all this shit....”

Kevin stood behind him and watched as AJ examined the movies. There had to be at least a hundred in that cabinet alone, including some newer releases that Kevin had been dying to see. He had to admit, Lou treated them good, even if he trapped them in a house in the middle of fucking nowhere for a few days. Now he was starting to feel bitter about the loss of the TV....

“Dude! There's even porn! There's like ten, fifteen different pornos in here,” the younger man exclaimed, pulling out an X-rated VHS tape. “I haven't seen these before.”

“AJ, you better hide those from Nick--”

“He's 16, dude, calm down. You know we've all seen shit like this before. Anyway,” AJ slid the video back in place and shut the cabinet, “it's not like we can watch 'em. Because my entire entertainment for the week is broken.”

“Sorry, Aje,” Kevin said earnestly, and AJ turned and looked at him.

“It's okay – I mean, it's not like you could've done anything about it,” AJ replied, shrugging, and briefly eying him up. “We don't even know what happened.”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Nick wandered into the room.

“Brian needs you back in the kitchen, Kev. I'll help you bring this out to the trash, AJ,” Nick announced, reaching for the television.

“Be careful, guys,” Kevin said. He brushed up against AJ before heading back to Brian.

 

“What was that crash I heard earlier?” Howie asked, joining the others at the table as Brian scooped vegetables onto each of their plates.

“TV fell out of nowhere,” Kevin said.

“Wow!” Howie exclaimed. “That's weird.”

“You're tellin' me,” Brian said, settling down in the seat next to Kevin, his unease at being in this house having increased about tenfold since the earlier moment when he'd thought someone had tapped his shoulder.

“Maybe Nick and AJ loosened it off the wall with their horsing around upstairs earlier,” Howie suggested.

“It couldn't have been attached very well,” Brian said.

“It's broken?” Howie asked.

“Shattered in pieces,” AJ lamented.

“It's in the dumpster now,” Nick told him.

“Damn.”

 

That night, Brian found himself grateful to be sharing a room with his cousin. He wasn't too keen on being alone anywhere in that house, even though they'd all searched every room for an intruder, with Brian playing off the actual plan as “Hey, y'all, let's explore every nook and cranny in this house – you know, for fun!”

In the end, that had worked out much to their advantage, because Kevin had uncovered a dusty old tuning-dial television in the basement (it only got two stations, but it was better than nothing), and Nick unearthed a collection of boardgames in an upstairs closet (including a Ouija Board, which Brian made him put away), as well as that tackle box Kevin had been hoping for. AJ found a studded leather jacket somewhere in the house and claimed new ownership to it.

Altogether, they'd found no unwanted guests. Except for a small brown spider Howie came across in the downstairs bathroom and promptly stomped on, to Nick's dismay.

At the end of the night, they sat on the floor around the coffee table (after Howie had worriedly vacuumed the carpet several times for spare pieces of glass) playing the game of Life for two and a half hours.

AJ ended up winning the game as a millionaire with six kids and no wife (“I don't settle down for just any pink peg lady,” he said when he'd crossed the marriage spot on the game board); Kevin was a poor, gay artist with one child (“We adopted him from Guatemala and his name is Pedro.”); Nick became a millionaire athlete with no wife or children, because “Ew, gross,”; Howie came in third place as a doctor with three kids; and Brian placed fourth, as a famous yet humbled musician with a beloved wife and son.

They'd all argued over the two bathrooms – only one of the bathrooms had a shower (“I'm going to call Lou tomorrow and complain,” Kevin said). Eventually, they all settled in for bed.

Brian tossed and turned all night, repeatedly waking up Kevin, until Kevin rolled onto Brian's side, threw a heavy arm over his torso, and pinned him in place.

“Sleep,” he grumbled, and eventually Brian did.


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first full day at the house turns out to be a very eventful one.

The doorbell and loud knocking from the first floor roused all five boys from slumber at around 8:20 the next morning.

“Wha...fuck.” Kevin sighed, and rolled over, snuggling deeply under the sheets and squeezing a pillow over his ears.

Brian slid out of bed, toed on his slip-on shoes, and met AJ just as the younger Backstreet Boy stumbled into the hallway.

“The fuck? Who the hell could that be this early?” AJ asked.

“I don't know. Should we answer?” Brian wondered. “Couldn't be a fan, could it? There's no way....”

“Highly doubt it, considering we're in the United States and not Germany, brother. It's probably nothing anyway, just one of those people taking polls or something,” AJ said. “We'll just tell 'em to fuck off.”

Brian followed him down the stairs and to the front door, which AJ opened just as the person started to knock again.

It turned out to be a man who appeared to be in his late 60s, very clearly Native American, with deep set eyes and a pronounced brow and nose.

“Can we help you?” Brian asked politely.

“You kinda woke us up, dude,” AJ said, not hiding his displeasure.

“You've upset the spirits beneath this house,” the man said without introduction. “They do not take kindly to newcomers.”

“What?” AJ said, squinting. “Who are you?”

“I am a member of the Ghost Lake Tribe,” the man said with a wary smile, then went on, “This house has remained abandoned for years. You should leave immediately. Why have you come now?”

“Sir, I don't understand how that is any business of yours,” Brian said, quickly losing his patience.

“It is very much business of mine. You've angered ancestors of my tribe because you have awoken the spirits that live on this property. They think you are stealing their land.”

Brian blinked at him, unable to comprehend the ridiculousness with which he was being faced right now.

“I swear, man, we are not taking your land--”

“You see, when this house was built, the land was already stolen. It doesn't matter whether you intend to take the land or not. The spirits will not allow you to stay,” the man said. “I am here to warn you. Get out now, before you get hurt.”

“Dude, we're only gonna be here for three and a half more days,” AJ told him. “Tell your spirit friends they can calm down, cause we ain't stayin' long.”

“How did you acquire this house?” the man asked, ignoring him.

“Again, I don't see why we need to tell you anything,” Brian said uneasily.

“The spirits that linger under this house are unforgiving and evil. They will not be understanding. There is a reason this house was never supposed to be on the market. The spirits of the lake, on one hand, will protect you, as will the living Tribesmen, but the ones on this property will not. They will do anything to get you to leave now that they are no longer at rest. This is sacred land, which you should not have set foot on.”

“Alrightee, well, thanks for that,” AJ said, “but I think we're gonna go back to sleep because, you know, it's before nine-fucking-A.M., and, like I said, you woke us up.”

“Heed my warning, for your own safety,” the man said. “I would leave today, if I were you--”

“Will do, my friend,” AJ said, “Have a good one.”

With that, he swung the door shut on the man's face and stared at Brian.

“The hell was that about?” Nick stated, and the both of them jumped and turned to face the youngest one. He was rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

“Some crazy Indian guy,” AJ said.

Howie appeared at the top of the stairs at that second, wrapped in his duvet.

“Who was it?” he asked.

“Some weirdo native dude,” Nick told him.

“Freaky superstitious stuff,” AJ explained. “Thinks we awoke some spirits or some bull.”

Howie laughed, “Great way to begin our first day here in beautiful Devils Lake.”

“Well, since most of you guys are up,” Brian paused to yawn, “I guess I can prepare us breakfast.”

“Nah, that's okay, Brian. I'll do it. How about you go ahead and go back to sleep?” AJ suggested.

“AJ can't cook,” Howie said, joining them at the front door. “He'll make us burnt Eggo waffles with cold syrup.”

“Then you cook breakfast, jerk,” AJ scoffed.

“Where'd that dude even come from?” Nick asked, peering out the window by the door. “He's already gone. Did he have a car?”

“Didn't see one,” Brian said.

“D, man, why are you even wearing that blanket? It's, like, 80 degrees in here,” AJ asked Howie.

“Really? I'm freezing,” the smaller man replied, wrapping it more tightly over his shoulders. Brian looked at him, concerned.

“Well, if AJ's making breakfast, I'm goin' back to bed,” Nick decided. “Wake me when the waffles are burnt.”

 

Brian fell asleep on the couch, but joined the rest of the guys at the table for breakfast. AJ had successfully cooked a couple dozen pancakes, which they quickly set to devouring.

“Hey, Kevin's still not up,” AJ noticed.

“I'll wake him,” Nick said, starting to stand, but AJ stood quicker.

“I'll bring him some pancakes, that'll wake him up,” AJ decided.

“It's really cold in here,” Howie thought.

AJ carried Kevin's plate and some orange juice up to Kevin and Brian's room, and set it on the bedside table before perching on the bed beside the older man's snoozing figure.

“Kevy-Kev,” he singsonged gently. “Wake up, baby.”

“'m sleepin',” Kevin told him.

“You've been asleep almost 10 hours. Time to wake up. Besides, you gotta take me fishing today, don't you?”

Kevin turned over and faced him, slowly blinking open youthful-looking green eyes.

“Get up and have breakfast,” AJ said, admiring Kevin's morning-fresh face. “I made everyone pancakes. Saved the ones that looked most like actual circles just for you.”

Kevin stretched, letting out a groan, then rolled up into a sitting position. AJ scooted over so they could sit side by side while Kevin reached out for his plate.

“Oh – shit, where'd that come from?” AJ asked in surprise, pointing out the scratch marks on Kevin's forearm as he extended his hand. Four long, fresh red lines traveled the entirety of his forearm, stopping at his wrist, the skin torn open just enough to bleed in some places.

Kevin looked down, and his eyes went wide. He rubbed at the lines with his other hand in disbelief.

“The fuck.... Must've scratched myself in my sleep?” he wondered, thoroughly perplexed.

“It's – Kev, it's on your back, too, by your shoulder,” AJ noticed, gently touching him near the spot where similar scratch marks were dug into Kevin's shoulder blade. “Is it anywhere else?”

“It's on my chest, too,” Kevin said, unnerved. He felt it before he saw it, a red-hot burning feeling on his upper right chest. “I think it's on my thigh, too, I can feel it.”

“That's really fucked up,” AJ said. “You have a nightmare or something?”

“Don't think so,” Kevin said, “but I can't remember.”

“It wasn't – it wasn't Brian...,” AJ wondered, even though the thought was too ridiculous to finish.

“Of course not,” Kevin snapped.

“Maybe you should take a shower,” AJ suggested. “I could help you treat them when you get out.”

“Okay,” Kevin said, “Just don't tell the other guys. I don't want them to worry, especially with that weird Native American guy at the door earlier talking about spirits under the house....”

“Right – wait.” AJ blinked as Kevin stood up. “How'd you know about the guy at the door? I thought you were asleep.”

“Was I? Oh,” Kevin said, realization hitting him, “Maybe that was a dream. I guess I did dream.”

“That's just messed up, man. How did you have a dream about what actually happened?”

“Wait, that actually happened?” Kevin asked.

“We'll talk about it later,” AJ said, gingerly guiding Kevin into the hall, “for now, you go and take that shower, alright? I'll keep your breakfast warm for you.”

 

“The thermostat says the house is at 77 degrees, D,” Brian said, as he and Howie stood looking at it in the hall. “Maybe you're sick or something. We can check for some Tylenol, if you've got a fever.”

“I feel fine,” Howie insisted. “Just really cold.”

“Well, whenever AJ and Kevin are done hogging the bathroom, we can draw you a nice hot bath, okay? And you can borrow my hoodie.”

“Okay...thanks, Brian,” Howie said, and wandered off to go watch black and white television with Nick while Brian returned to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

 

Inside the bathroom, Kevin was perched naked on the side of the tub, a small towel draped over his lap for decency. AJ dressed his wounds tenderly with Neosporin and Kevin relayed his whole dream to the younger man.

“That's exactly what happened,” AJ said in awe. “But I don't understand how you could've known that. It's not like the walls are that thin at this house. I couldn't even hear Howie snore last night. There's no way you could have heard that man. Or, you know, describe what he looked like perfectly, seeing as you never saw him.”

“I never have vivid dreams like that. This place is weird,” Kevin decided.

“Yeah, it is,” AJ said, gently massaging the ointment into Kevin's chest. “Maybe the weirdo spirits under the house are what caused the TV to break yesterday.”

Kevin snorted. “Right.”

AJ half-smiled and reached for the towel covering Kevin's last scratch.

“It's okay, um,” Kevin said quickly, holding the towel in place, “I can get that one.”

“Don't worry about it, I got it,” AJ said. “Besides, my hands are covered in ointment now, and you just showered, so.... Here, just move the towel a little bit – oh! It's down in there, isn't it? Lucky you didn't get your balls, dude.”

Kevin blushed and looked away, holding the towel tightly over his half-hard cock, hoping AJ wouldn't pay it enough attention to notice that he was aroused.

AJ's warm fingers danced over the scratches on Kevin's thigh, spreading the Neosporin thinly before rubbing it in. AJ seemed to go more slowly this time, making sure each centimeter of skin absorbed the ointment completely. Kevin could hear himself breathing and so made an effort to breathe more quietly.... His breath hitched as AJ's fingers moved close to the area the towel was covering. AJ rubbed his thumb there and spoke again, his voice raspy, “Kev?”

“What?” Kevin struggled to get his voicebox to work.

“Can I touch it?” AJ asked, slipping one finger underneath the towel, twirling it into some dark pubic hair. Kevin shuddered slightly, loosening his grip on the towel. “Please? Could I at least see it?”

“I....”

“I won't tell anyone. And I know how to do it, I've touched my own before--”

Just then, they were startled from their intimacy by a loud rapping on the door.

“Kev? AJ? Y'all almost done in there? Howie wants to take a bath,” came Brian's voice.

AJ groaned. Kevin let out the breath he didn't know he'd been keeping in.

“Yes, Mother Hen,” the younger one called. He looked back at Kevin and whispered, smirking secretively, “Rain check?”

“Uh...,” Kevin said, allowing AJ to help him to his feet, still gripping the towel over his private area. “Sure.”

“You can share my bed with me tonight, instead of Rok,” AJ suggested, throwing the older man a wink and patting him on the stomach before exiting the bathroom and leaving Kevin to get dressed.

 

 

Brian drew a hot bath for Howie as the older one sat on the toilet seat, still snuggled in his duvet. The steam swirled around the room, fogging up the mirror, but Howie continued to shiver. Once the tub was full, Brian rose to his feet and touched Howie on the shoulder.

“Alright, man, nice and warm,” Brian said. “I'll let you get to it, then. In the meantime, I'll find a thermometer or something to take your temperature. You sure you're not coming down with a fever?”

Howie shook his head, slipping out of the duvet and removing his shirt. Brian left the room and headed for the kitchen to find the first aid kit, which AJ had left out on the counter.

“Kevin got a little scratch on his arm,” AJ had said by way of explanation as he returned the Neosporin. Brian had frowned but didn't question it further.

He found a thermometer under a pile of bandages when he heard Howie shout his name. He slipped the thermometer in his pocket and bounded back up the stairs, meeting Howie right as the other man swung open the bathroom door.

“The hell's the big idea?” Howie cried, shaking and looking thoroughly upset. Brian had never seen him look like that before – usually Howie was the last person to lose his cool. Brian looked at him, wide-eyed. A towel was wrapped haphazardly around Howie's waist, and his legs were dripping water onto the floor.

“What's wrong?” Brian asked.

“What do you mean what's wrong? I would've expected this from Nick maybe, but not you!” Howie exclaimed.

“Expected what? What did I do?” Brian said, puzzled.

“The water! It's freezing!” Howie shouted, but he visibly diminished when he realized Brian was just as surprised as he was.

“What? No, it isn't. It's hot. I just drew the water, I felt it with my own hands less than a couple minutes ago,” Brian insisted. “Look, the mirror's still fogged up. There's no way....”

“Go feel it for yourself, then,” Howie said, folding his arms over his chest and continuing to shiver.

Brian looked at him and walked over to the tub before kneeling beside it and dipping his hand into the water. He pulled it back out and wiped it off on his shirt.

“It's ice cold,” he realized. “What on God's lush, green earth....”

“You mean you didn't do it?” Howie asked. “Like some kind of stupid prank?”

Brian shook his head. “Of course not! You saw the steam on the mirror – that bath was hot! Why would I do that to you, especially if I thought you were sick?”

“I'm not sick,” Howie insisted, but that was old news the moment he dove towards the toilet, doubled over, and vomited into the bowl.

“Shit,” Brian, who rarely swore, said. He drained the bathtub and crawled over to Howie, gently massaging his back as he puked. “You can't tell me you aren't sick now,” he chuckled softly. He gently felt Howie's forehead. “You're really warm. That's odd, especially since you say you're freezing.” Brian stood. “Let me go get you some water and some Tylenol, then I'll take your temperature, okay? Do you need anything for your stomach?”

Howie shook his head.

 

Outside the house, near the broken dock, AJ sat cross-legged in the grass beside the discarded tackle box, staring off into the lake and listening to Kevin recount stories of fishing with his father when he was a boy. When the older man got a little teary-eyed, AJ leaned over, kissed him on the mouth, and unzipped his jeans.

 

Brian had Howie wrapped tightly and immobile in fresh blankets on his bed with a thermometer under his tongue and a trashcan by his side. Brian managed to get a couple Tylenol in him as well as a full glass of water.

“You need to stay hydrated if you want to feel better,” Brian told him. He took the thermometer out of Howie's mouth and read it: “101. You've definitely got a fever. Must be the stomach flu.”

Howie moaned.

“I know,” Brian said soothingly, stroking Howie's forehead. “It'll pass in a couple of days, hopefully.”

“I never get sick,” Howie rasped. “I didn't even feel sick. I just felt cold. I still feel cold....”

“The flu always comes on fast. You wouldn't have known,” Brian tried to comfort him. “Look, you try and sleep, okay? Me and the other guys will take care of you.”

“We're leaving for Canada in a few days,” Howie groaned.

“Yes, I know. You'll feel better by then,” Brian said, and patted his friend on the chest. He sure hoped so, anyway. And he hoped none of the other guys caught what Howie had. He felt uneasy again, still in awe over the bathwater mishap. He had tested it with his own fingertips, it had been hot. It wasn't physically possible for the water to change temperature so quickly by itself – what could have caused it?

 

“Howie's caught some bug so Brian kicked me out of the house to get some Vitamin D,” Nick said, plopping himself down on the lake shore beside Kevin and AJ.

“Jesus Christ,” AJ said, jerking away from Kevin and turning to look at the younger boy. “You snuck up on us like a fuckin' ninja, bro. Give us warning next time.”

“What was your hand down Kevin's pants for?” Nick asked curiously.

“It wasn't,” AJ said.

“Yeah, it was,” Nick said. “I saw it.”

“So Howie's sick?” Kevin changed the subject, folding his hands over his lap, staring ahead at the lake and hoping Nick couldn't see the blush across his cheeks.

“Yeah. Was throwin' up and everything,” Nick said, still side-eying AJ. “I thought you guys were fishing.”

“The only fishing rod's line snapped, and there's no extra in the tackle box,” Kevin said.

“Major bummer,” AJ added.

“Maybe that gas station down the street's got some,” Nick suggested.

“Gas stations don't sell fishing line,” AJ said.

“This one might,” Nick said, “We should go. Plus, I need new batteries for my Gameboy!”

“Go by yourself, then,” AJ told him. “Me n' Kev were busy talking 'til you interrupted us.”

“Come on, Kev,” Nick tried. “Please?”

“I dunno,” the older man said, wanting to be alone with AJ again...so that AJ could finish what he'd started.

“You guys suck,” Nick said, getting to his feet.

“Thank God,” AJ breathed.

“Guess when I get murdered by some crazy North Dakota Indian dudes, you can tell Brian that you were too busy jerking each other off to walk with me to the gas station to get batteries.”

“That's great there, Junior,” AJ said, “have fun.”

“We can't let him go alone,” Kevin sighed. That dream from earlier in the morning was still fresh in his head, though the scratch marks on his skin had faded to a dull pink.

AJ cursed, and stood up after Kevin did.

“Let me just go get my wallet and tell Brian where we're headed,” Kevin said.

 

“So are you guys, like, boyfriends now?” Nick asked as the three of them walked single-file down the vacant road.

“No,” Kevin said.

“We could be,” AJ said. Kevin glanced behind him at AJ in surprise.

“That'd be cool. Kinda gross though, but I mean, I wouldn't have a problem with it,” Nick said.

“Let's not talk about that,” Kevin decided.

 

Once Kevin told Brian the three of them were headed up the street, Brian decided to prepare lunch, something easy in case he had to drop what he was doing suddenly to take care of Howie. He made buttery grilled cheese on the stove top. He made a sandwich for Howie, as well, in case the man was feeling up to it, but put some tomato soup on the stove since he figured that'd be easier to keep down. The rest of the guys would like to dip their grilled cheese in the soup, too, he was sure.

He put the radio on low to keep him company since he was nervous at being in the house alone (except for sick Howie). He messed with the dial but the only station he could get kept playing weird tribal-sounding chants. He resigned to singing Backstreet Boys songs over top of the radio as he cooked.

 

As time went on, he started to feel very unnerved, as though he was being watched. He looked out the windows repeatedly but saw no one – until finally he spotted Kevin, AJ, and Nick walking down the street with grocery bags in their hands. He smiled, body flooding with relief, turned off the stove, and went to bring some soup up to Howie.

 

Lunch went well. Afterward, Brian reserved himself to staying in the house to take care of Howie, not because he thought Howie needed him, but because Brian didn't like the idea of leaving Howie here by himself. The other boys had gone outside to play catch, but he was comforted by the fact that he could see them out the window.

Howie, a traveling pile of blankets, dragged himself down the stairs and sat next to Brian on the couch in the living room to watch TV. He set his throw-up bucket next to the couch in case, but he seemed to be fine for the time being.

 

Outside, Kevin leaned against the siding of the house, trying to wire the fishing line through the rod. He was having a rough time remembering how to do it, since it had been well over five years since he'd last gone fishing. A few yards away, AJ and Nick threw a baseball back and forth.

Nick stepped back to catch, and then screamed out in agony, lifting up his leg to clutch his foot while the baseball bounced off his shoulder.

Kevin dropped the fishing rod and jogged over to him just as AJ got there.

“You alright, dude?”

“Yeah,” Nick groaned, “I just stepped on some sharp rock. That hurt....”

Kevin looked down and spotted the rock Nick was talking about. AJ knelt and picked it up.

“It's an arrowhead,” the smaller man said, examining it closely. “The sharp end was sticking straight up. You're not bleeding, are you?”

Nick supported himself on Kevin's shoulder as he twisted up his foot to look. “No. Didn't break skin.”

“There's probably more around,” Kevin said. “I wouldn't go around barefoot anymore if I were you.”

Nick scoffed. “Fine.” He took it from AJ. “I wanna keep it.”

“I get to keep the next one,” AJ said.

“I'm gonna keep every single one that I step on!” Nick decided, heading towards the house to find his discarded shoes.

 

“I got this tourism pamphlet at the gas station,” Kevin said later that evening as he and Brian sat on the couch watching the news on low volume. Howie had returned upstairs to get more rest while AJ and Nick played Crazy Eights on the floor in front of the cousins. Kevin pulled out the wrinkled visitor's guide from his pocket and unfolded it.

“Tourism, huh?” Brian wondered. “People come here for vacation? I mean, apart from us?”

“Dopest vacation ever,” AJ commented.

“There are actually things to do here other than step on arrowheads?” Nick put in.

“Well, this would explain the arrowhead,” Kevin said, pointing out a paragraph to Brian, who leaned over to read it. “There's a Native American tribe based out of Devils Lake.”

“That also explains the weirdo at the front door this morning,” AJ said.

“There's a casino,” Brian noticed.

“Let's go! What the hell, man, why didn't I know ab--”

“AJ, hush. It's several miles away,” Kevin told him. “It'd take us at least an hour to walk there. Besides, Nick wouldn't be able to get in.”

“God, this place blows,” AJ moaned.

“Why didn't Lou leave us with a car again?” Nick said.

“He didn't want his prisoners to escape,” Brian said.

“Yeah, but I don't think he wants us to die here, either. Not yet, anyway,” AJ added, shuffling his cards, “He hasn't made enough money off us.”

“Is there a taxi service here?” Brian slipped off the couch to look for a phone book. “Maybe we could get someone to drive us to the casino tomorrow. That'd be something to do.”

“What about Mark? That dude who drove us here?” Nick said.

“He works for Lou. I don't know anything about him,” Kevin shrugged. “I don't even know if he's staying in town.”

Brian sank back into the couch, opening up the yellow pages. Just as he started to scan for driving services, the lights flickered off and on.

Kevin swore.

The lights went out.

“Dopest vacation ever,” AJ said again.

Nick made ghost sounds: “The spirits of the evil lake are gonna get us!”

“Nick, shut up,” Kevin said flatly.

Nick lunged for AJ in the dark and tackled him.

“I'm gonna go find a flashlight,” Brian said as the two youngest play-fought like they were half their ages.

“I'll come with you,” Kevin volunteered, carefully stepping through the dark. “We can try and find the fuse box.”

“It's probably in the scary basement! Ooooooooo!” Nick said, making more ghost noises. Quickly, that turned into a fit of laughter as AJ found his ticklish spots.

 

Just as Kevin and Brian stepped into the kitchen, lightning flashed outside the windows and loud, rolling thunder sounded very soon after.

“Looks like it's not the fuse box after all,” Kevin sighed.

“The natives must've performed a rain dance,” Brian joked. He walked over to the nearest window and peered out onto the dark landscape. Rain fell heavily, and now he could hear it pattering on the roof. “Doesn't look like it'll be stopping anytime soon.”

Kevin shuffled through the cabinets in search for lights. Brian was about to turn around and help when he spotted a human-like shape moving along the street in front of the house. He jerked back from the window in surprise and blinked his eyes several times; it was gone.

“Found a flashlight, but it doesn't work,” Kevin said.

“Didn't Nick just buy batteries?” Brian asked shakily.

 

The flashlight helped them light the house with candles and matches.

“I wonder whose home this is,” Brian said, “it's as fully stocked as my parents' house.”

“Think Lou rented it off someone for real cheap, or that's what I heard him saying on the phone the other day,” Kevin said. Then casually added, as they walked up the stairs to their rooms, “By the way, I'm sleeping with AJ tonight.”

Brian was surprised. “Why?”

Kevin shrugged. “Cause he's scared.”

“Just because it's dark doesn't mean your voice ain't gonna give away that you're lying,” Brian said. “Plus, I know AJ's not scared. He's never scared of anything.”

“He's scared of planes,” Kevin pointed out.

Brian glared at him.

“Well, anyway, I'm sleeping with him. You should be happy to have a whole bed to yourself tonight, right, cous?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Brian thought, already making plans to snuggle up in bed with Nick because God knew he wasn't sleeping alone in this damned house. “You and AJ seem to be spending a lot of time together lately.”

Kevin stiffened visibly. “We bonded over fishing.”

“Over broken fishing wire?” Brian snorted.

“It turns out we both have a lot in common,” Kevin told him.

“Like what? Women?” Brian chuckled. “Look, man, it's okay if you and AJ are --”

“We're _not_ \--”

“--getting along well. Geez, Kevin, what did you think I was gonna say?”

Kevin didn't respond, just shrugged. Brian stared hard at him before they finally said goodnight and he went into AJ's room. Brian sighed, not really wanting to know the details of what was going on between those two, and decided to check how Howie was feeling before he went to bed.

 

* * *

 

Kevin thrust heavily in and out of AJ's hard body as they bit their tongues to keep from shouting out and waking the others in the house. The sole candle in AJ's room had long since gone out, about the time when they'd started kissing with tongue, and now they couldn't see each other in the pitch black. But they could feel each other, and that was what mattered, as their sweat stuck them to the bedsheets and helped them slide more easily against each other.

“God, Kevin,” AJ breathed. Kevin buried his face in AJ's damp neck, gasping in his scent, and feeling his personal unraveling drawing near. Their shaky breathing blended in with the continuous pattering rain on the windowpane; the thunder still rolled, much more quietly now, far away background noise to their own personal world of salty skin and sex. AJ's nails dug into Kevin's back, and his legs tightened around his waist. The bed beneath them started creaking as their patterns became more frenzied and their walls began to crumble. “Gonna cum--”

“Me, too,” Kevin said, sinking his teeth into AJ's skin.

Right as they both slipped over the edge, they heard a loud bang come from the stairs.


	3. Day 3 Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get a little messy and the Boys are rightfully beginning to panic.

Brian jerked awake at the noise, and realized he'd fallen asleep on the chair in Howie's room. He rubbed at his stiff neck and stood up.

“Howie?” Feeling around in the dark, Brian found out that Howie was in his bed where he'd left him.

“What?” the older one mumbled.

“What was that noise?” Brian asked, forgetting the flashlight and heading for the door. In the hallway, he tried to peer through the dark. “Kevin? AJ?”

“Rok,” came the feeble reply, from the bottom of the staircase.

“Nick? What...what happened? Where are you?” Brian said, feeling his way down the stairs until his toes hit a large, soft lump. Nick's butt. He knelt down and felt through the dark for him. “You okay?”

“I fell down the stairs,” Nick said, dazed, as Brian's arms came around his waist.

“I can tell,” Brian replied. “Any bones broken? Can you move?”

“I think I can move. Just really bruised, battered is all,” Nick said. Brian gently lifted Nick to a sitting position. “Ow,” he whined, “my wrist....”

“What were you doing out here?” Brian asked.

“Was gonna go to the bathroom,” Nick said.

“But it's at the other end of the hallway!”

“I know,” Nick mumbled, “I think someone pushed me.”

“Who could have pushed you?” Brian asked, as a door opened and footsteps sounded on the second floor, “Everyone's been asleep.”

“What happened?” came Kevin's voice from the top of the staircase.

“Nick fell down the stairs.”

“Shit, is he okay?” AJ asked.

“Careful where you step, we don't need y'all fallin', too,” Brian warned. “You said someone pushed you? Who?”

“I don't know,” Nick moaned.

“One of y'all find the flashlight, please?” Brian directed. “I think I left it somewhere in Howie's room.”

The upstairs hallway light flickered on. Kevin and AJ were in the hallway in only their underwear; Brian would have laughed or said something about it had he not been solely focused on Nick. And what was that milky-looking stuff splattered over Kevin's stomach? Brian decided he didn't want to ask because he already knew. At least it confirmed his suspicions that Kevin was more than just sharing a bed with his younger friend.

“No need,” AJ said. “Power's working again.”

Brian carefully hoisted Nick to his feet.

“C'mon, Nicky, let's get you some ice and make sure your wrist isn't hurt too badly.”

 

 

They survived through the rest of the night, going back to sleep after Brian bandaged up Nick's wrist thoroughly. Yet again, however, they had a rude, sudden awakening in the morning.

AJ jerked into consciousness at the sound of a thud against the windowpane in his room. Kevin stirred, and AJ slid out of his arms to go investigate. The noise happened again and AJ gasped, jumping. He ran to the window, opened the blind, and his jaw dropped. Blood was smeared all over the glass, slowly oozing down.

“What the....”

Another thud, and AJ saw it this time; a bird, smacking into the window, committing suicide before leaving another trail of blood next to the first two.

“Jesus!”

“What is it?” Kevin murmured, slowly sitting up. “Nick throwing rocks at the window?”

“Um, remember? Nick sprained his wrist last night, Kev,” AJ said. “So no. There's birds – there's been, like, at least three birds hitting the window. What the hell is going on?”

“You've gotta be kidding me,” Kevin said, stumbling out of the bed and over to AJ's side.

As he made it over, two more birds nailed into the window at once, causing the both of them to jump.

“Shit,” Kevin said.

“It's like we're in an over-the-top horror movie,” AJ commented.

 

Kevin and AJ followed Brian out the front door. Nick and Howie watched from inside; birds were hitting every part of the house, every few seconds.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Brian stated as the three of them looked up. A swarm of at least three hundred small black birds circled the roof of the house, looking something like a dust cloud underneath the blue-gray sky. Every so often, one of them strayed from the group to smack itself into the wooden siding and fall lifeless to the ground.

“What the hell do we do?” AJ asked, ducking as one nose-dived toward him.

“Call animal control?” Kevin suggested, twisting to the side as a bird narrowly missed him.

“Let's get back in the house,” Brian stated.

 

“There's not much we can do except wait for them to finish and then clean up the mess,” the respondent from the North Dakota Animal Rescue told them on the phone a few minutes later.

“Does something like this happen often?” Brian inquired.

“Well – yes, and no,” the respondent said uneasily.

“What's that mean?”

“It means that yes, it happens occasionally in your area of Devils Lake, but no, it's only happened maybe once or twice anywhere else in the continental United States.”

“Wow,” Brian said.

“'Wow' is right,” the respondent said. “I'll send a team over to clean up.”

 

“We always believed it to be some sort of magnetic pull under the property, drawing the birds to your neighborhood during migration,” one of the Rescue team members, Tom, said. His crew moseyed around the property, collecting the dead birds in large black trash bags. About a third of the birds had killed themselves, leaving a disturbing feathered mess on the exterior of the house and the yard. The rest of the birds seemed to change their minds and fly away right as the animal rescue van pulled up the driveway, however, a few dozen of them remained on trees skirting the yard, watching. “And it's usually these pesky blackbirds,” Tom added, showing Kevin the blood-battered one in his gloved palm. Kevin grimaced.

“So this only happens here?” AJ asked.

“Only at this property, yes,” Tom said.

“Only at this house?” Kevin said in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. Carrie didn't tell you that?” Carrie had been the one with whom they'd spoken on the phone earlier.

“She didn't, no.”

“She probably didn't want to startle you all,” Tom admitted. “But yeah, it's only ever happened on this property. As much as we want to say it's for natural reasons, the thing is, most of us believe deep down it has to do with the history of this place.”

“History of this place,” Kevin repeated.

“You guys know this house was built on an ancestral burial ground, right?”

“What?” AJ said.

“Yeah. Time to time, weird stuff happens here. More often when there are residents, as if it's a warning to keep folks out. Lots of us locals, especially the Natives, believe in it. Others think it's bull. But one thing's for sure – don't mess with the Ghost Lake Tribe!” Tom chuckled. “They're good people, I promise you. But if you're a white guy, I'd still watch out. This area is a reservation, and they'll do anything to protect it. Even the nature – these birds – are on their side. Hell, I'm sure the trees are, too. Some of the Tribe allegedly do evil rituals just to scare away visitors.”

“So this house has all this activity because it was built on a burial ground?” Kevin asked.

Tom shrugged. “Yeah. Some rich guy bought off this section of land for a lot of money despite protesting. He built this house but can never get anyone to stay in it long. Because the house was cursed by the Tribe shortly after he built it.”

“Oh, right. Makes sense,” AJ said, nodding.

“How long are you boys in town for, anyway?” Tom asked.

“Two more nights after today,” Kevin replied.

“I'd be careful,” Tom said. He wrote down a number on a piece of paper and handed it to Kevin. “That's the number of my friend, Danny. He's got a pressure washer – should get all that blood and gunk off the side of your house in one go. Tell him I referred you. Good luck.” He stooped over to pick up another bird. “If I were you, I'd leave sooner. Some bad things have happened at this place.”

“I can imagine,” AJ said.

 

Brian and Kevin prepared what they called “Kentucky-style” homemade macaroni and cheese for lunch. Nick played with his Gameboy. Howie, feeling slightly better than yesterday, watched television and called his mom. AJ sat at the kitchen table staring at Kevin while he cooked.

Danny had come by earlier with the pressure washer and took care of the house. They had him send the bill to Lou. Danny told them something interesting before he left:

“A couple died here a few years back, of carbon monoxide poisoning.” He said they'd gotten trapped in the basement under unknown circumstances. They were discovered by family members searching for them a week later. The heater down there was later replaced and the levels were normal again. He warned the boys to keep an eye on the CO monitor regardless; it seemed to go off every time there was a new family living in the house.

“I want to leave,” Nick had decided when Danny left. “This place is haunted. People died here.”

“It's not haunted,” Kevin said. “It's cursed.”

“It's not haunted or cursed,” Howie said. “Don't be ridiculous. There's no such thing. The bird thing and the carbon monoxide was just coincidental.”

“And the TV breaking and you getting sick and Nick spraining his wrist and Kev getting scratches all over his body was coincidental, too?” AJ pointed out.

“Kevin got scratches all over his body?” Brian asked, worried.

“I didn't,” Kevin said. “No scratches.”

“Tell them about your scratches, Kevin!” AJ said.

“I gotta admit, I've been seein' things lately,” Brian said. “At first I thought it was just my imagination, but....”

“This place is sooo haunted!” Nick said. “We need to leave!”

“We can't,” Howie said. “We don't have a car.”

“We can walk to the nearest rental place if Lou doesn't help,” Kevin said. “I'll call him after lunch.”

“So you got scratches?”

 

Kevin explained to Lou that Howie was sick and Nick needed to go to the hospital to check out his sprain (that he'd gotten while the boys were playing football in the yard), so it would be great if he could please send them a driver, despite how well this trapped-in-the-middle-of-nowhere family bonding thing was working out. Because Kevin would hate to see them have to cancel a few dates on the Canadian tour and lose any money because Howie or Nick couldn't perform.

Lou agreed, after Kevin had mentioned the money, saying he'd send someone over ASAP. He called back about twenty minutes later, saying that the soonest he could get someone out there would be the following morning.

“That's fine,” Kevin said, hanging up the phone as Lou babbled on about keeping Nicky away from Howie, because he didn't want the youngest to get sick, too, on top of his sprained wrist. AJ molded into Kevin's body and kissed his neck.

“So we gettin' out of here?” the younger one asked. Kevin drew a finger down AJ's side.

“Tomorrow.”

“Well, at least it's one day earlier,” Brian said from nearby on the couch. “And cut it with the PDA, you two.”

“One more day,” AJ said, ignoring Brian. “Nothing that bad can happen in one day, can it?”

 

“You guys shouldn't mess with that stuff.”

Howie walked into AJ's room later that day, seeing Kevin, AJ, and Nick sitting on the ground in a circle surrounding a Ouija Board.

“It's all superstitious bullshit anyway,” Kevin said with a shrug. “I figured I'd let these two humor themselves. See if there's anything to it.”

“Shut up, Kevin, it's real,” AJ said. “I used one, one time, back when I was a kid and it totally works, we're just not being serious enough with it.”

“It's probably not a good idea to use it whether it works or not, after what's been happening here,” Howie advised. “I heard that only demons communicate through it.”

“That's probably what's controlling this house,” AJ said, “demons.”

Howie couldn't deny his curiosity. He sat next to Nick. “You guys get anything interesting?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Kevin said, bored.

“It spelled out 'penis' earlier,” AJ said. Kevin laughed quietly.

“And what was that other word – clor – collateral...,” Nick tried.

“Clitoris,” Kevin corrected.

“You guys sure that Kevin hasn't been moving the piece around the board, spelling his own words out?” Howie wondered.

“Kevin wouldn't do that,” Nick said, “Right, Kevin?”

“Of course not,” Kevin said.

“Join us, D,” Nick said, placing two fingers back on the planchette. “Just touch it really lightly, the spirits will move it for us and spell stuff out.”

“I'd rather not,” Howie said. “I'll just watch.”

“C'mon, Kev, let's try again,” Nick said.

Sighing, Kevin leaned forward and placed his fingers on the planchette. AJ joined them. Slowly, the planchette began to move.

“Be honest, Kev, are you moving it?” Nick asked.

“Nope,” Kevin said.

“You swear?”

“Swear to God up above.”

“L... A... K... Is it spelling out 'lake?'” Nick asked, as the planchette rolled over the “E.”

“Y'all havin' a party and you didn't invite me?” Brian asked, breezing into the room. He paused as soon as he saw the Ouija Board laid out on the ground, a horrified look crossing his face. “What are you guys doing?”

“It just spelled out 'LAKE,' Brian!” Nick told him excitedly.

“So what? That doesn't mean anything.”

“Yeah it does, we're in Devils Lake,” Nick said.

“Put it away, guys,” Brian said. “Right now.”

“Let's put it away,” Kevin said, pulling his hand off the planchette. It kept moving, towards C, and then U.

“AJ, are you moving it?” Nick asked. AJ shook his head.

R.

“Guys, stop messing with that, okay?” Brian said. “It's not a good thing to do.”

S.

“I think it's spelling 'CURSE,'” AJ said as the planchette moved towards the E. Kevin's hand came down on the game-piece, stilling it.

“Let's put the game away,” Kevin said. “It's making Brian upset.”

 

“Well, that was useless,” AJ said, helping Nick stuff the game back into the closet where he'd found it. “We didn't learn anything we didn't already know.”

“You promise you weren't moving the planchette?” Nick asked.

“I promise.”

“Let's try it again, tonight,” Nick said. “By ourselves.”


	4. Day 3 Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin and AJ's relationship evolves. The Boys realize they are locked inside the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait for the update, for anyone who is still bothering to read this. I'll post the final chapter the second I finish it. Thanks for reading/commenting!

AJ and Kevin managed to get away from the group after dinner. They locked themselves in AJ's room and started kissing and feeling each other immediately. Kevin stilled AJ's hand when it landed on his zipper, and sat them both down on the edge of the bed.

“I think we should just stick to kissing, for now,” Kevin said. “Not get too into things.”

“What?” AJ murmured dismissively, fingertips back on the crotch of Kevin's jeans as he continued kissing, shoving his tongue back in Kevin's mouth.

When they broke for air, Kevin spoke before AJ could cover his lips again. “I know you wanna, and I wanna, but we should definitely not have sex right now.”

“Why?” AJ asked, attention finally caught, brown eyes still dilated with lust.

“Cause of the house,” Kevin said. “Something could happen, while we were in the middle of it --”

“Like what?” AJ laughed, running his hand down Kevin's thigh. “None of the things that have happened have been _that_ bad, Kev. It's just weird shit to spook us away. We'll be gone tomorrow. Nothing is gonna happen.”

“'That bad?' What if one of us gets hurt again?” Kevin said, gripping AJ's hand tightly as it moved back up his leg. “Nick fell down the stairs, AJ – he could've cracked open his head, could've sustained a really bad injury if he hadn't been lucky. Howie was vomiting. I woke up with fucking scratches on my arms.”

AJ shrugged. “But he's fine. You were fine.”

“I'm just afraid someone else might get hurt,” Kevin said, casting his eyes down. “I'm afraid you might get hurt.”

“How would I get hurt, if I'm in bed with you?” AJ chuckled. “Kev, that's ridiculous. You'll keep me safe, old man.”

“We still shouldn't,” Kevin said. “We need to be alert, at all times, in case something happens.”

“What, you gonna keep vigilant all night, Kevvy Kev?” AJ mocked. “You need to relax. Here, I'll help you --”

“No,” Kevin stopped him, gripping both his hands quickly as they moved to him.

“I was just gonna give you a damn massage, Kev, geez! Am I not allowed to touch you at all?” AJ snapped, tugging his hands away. “You can be such an asshole. For real, man.”

“Oh,” Kevin said, looking apologetic. “You can give me a massage.”

“Too bad, I don't want to anymore,” AJ told him, folding his arms across his chest stubbornly. “This must be my part of the deal, huh?”

Kevin was perplexed. “What deal?”

“The deal with the house, what else?” AJ replied. When Kevin still looked confused, AJ went on: “You got the scratches and weird dreams, Howie got sick, Brian said he's been hearin' and seein' shit, Nick got injured. Mine must be heartbreak, or some shit.”

“Heartbreak?” Kevin repeated, impressed. “Because I won't sleep with you right now?”

AJ nodded and shrugged. “And you seem, like, reluctant, to be in a relationship with me.”

“What? I'm not reluctant,” Kevin said, then paused and looked at AJ. “We're in a relationship?”

AJ toyed with the hem of his shirt and shrugged again. “Guess not.”

Kevin reached out a hand and gingerly tipped AJ's chin up, so he could look him in the eyes. AJ's eyes flickered away nervously.

“Do you want to be?” Kevin asked softly, running the pad of his thumb over AJ's bottom lip.

“Well, yeah,” AJ said. “I thought I made that obvious when, you know, I came onto you. And when we had sex and stuff.”

“You should've talked to me about it,” Kevin said.

“Well, that's what we're doing right now, so...,” the younger one trailed off.

“I'd love to be in a relationship with you,” Kevin told him, and AJ's eyes brightened.

“You would?”

“Of course.”

“So that's it, then? We're boyfriends?” AJ asked, trying not to seem overexcited despite the smile growing on his lips.

“We sure are,” Kevin replied fondly, kissing him. He pushed him down onto the bed.

 

Brian, just as much of a worrywart as Kevin, insisted they all drag mattresses and blankets into one single room, to keep check on each other during their final night. He chose AJ's and Kevin's room for the integration.

“It'll be like a fun slumber party,” Howie said, trying to make light of the situation as he piled his blankets next to Nick's.

“Yeah, but you snore,” Nick said unhappily.

“Hey,” Howie frowned. “I can't help it.”

“Now we definitely can't have sex,” AJ said under his breath to Kevin. Kevin laughed.

“What's so funny, cous?” Brian asked, shuffling a pile of cards.

“Nothin',” Kevin said.

 

They played cards and boardgames late into the night. Brian seemed calmed by keeping entertained; Howie was on edge and still looking very pale. Nick looked distracted. AJ was distracted by how attractive Kevin looked in his pajamas.

Finally, they all turned in for bed. Brian scoffed at AJ and Kevin as they climbed in bed together.

“No funny business with you two, alright?” he said firmly.

AJ put on an innocent look. “What do you mean, funny business?”

“No touching each other,” Brian said. “For the love of God, no touching. No kissing, no --”

“What?” Howie asked, obviously perplexed. “Why would they--”

“They're boyfriends,” Nick explained.

 

AJ was dead asleep when he was forced back to consciousness by a hand prodding at him and another hand covering his mouth shut. He opened his eyes wide and was met with Nick's figure hovering over his side of the bed.

“Ouija,” Nick mouthed.

AJ sighed through his nose. Forced Nick's hands away. Sat up and slid out of bed, quietly following Nick into the hall.

 

“This is stupid. We're not getting anything,” AJ muttered, removing his hand from the planchette.

“We got 'C-O',” Nick said. “That's something.”

“That's nothing. That's not even a word.”

“It's the beginning to a word,” Nick said defensively. “Or maybe it meant Colorado, like the state abbreviation.”

“We're in North Dakota, moron. Colorado's, like, hundreds of miles away. Besides, 'co' is the beginning to thousands of words,” AJ sighed. “And who knows if it was even spelling out a word that time? Right after that, it kept going through the alphabet in stupid circles. Let's just stop. Brian would be pissed if he found out what we're doing.”

Nick glared at him and leaned back from the Ouija board as AJ got to his feet. “Fine.”

 

The next morning was spent packing up all of their things. Kevin eyed AJ disapprovingly as the younger Backstreet Boy scooped all of the porn movies he'd never gotten a chance to see and dumped them in his bag.

“What? I was planning on watching 'em with you,” AJ said.

Kevin had tried calling Lou to confirm that their ride was going to be there, but nobody picked up. Next, he tried calling Mark, their driver earlier that week. Again, there was no answer. He figured they'd just wait it out.

The guys piled their luggage at the front door and occupied themselves by feeding in the kitchen and glancing outside for their ride.

 

AJ tried to go outside for a smoke sometime after breakfast but couldn't open the front door. He called for Kevin. Kevin couldn't open it, either. While Kevin struggled with that door, AJ gave up and went to the back door. That didn't open, either. He had Brian try to open that one, while he decided to crack open a window to blow smoke out of instead.

When he couldn't open any of the windows on the first floor after meticulously checking and re-checking each window lock, he started to freak out. When he couldn't open any of the windows on the second floor, he screamed for Kevin.

“All the windows are locked!” he yelled. “I'm jonesing for a cigarette really bad right now, Kev.”

“Did you try unlocking the windows?” Kevin asked matter-of-factly.

AJ set him with the hardest glare he could and stormed past him. “No, Kev! _Of course I didn't try unlocking every window in the house_! Yes! I tried unlocking them, and I can't open any single one! We're fucking trapped in this house!”

So of course Kevin had to try for himself. All of the boys had to try for themselves. AJ watched them, growing more finicky by the second. All of the guys jumped when they heard a loud crash and a clatter come from the kitchen. AJ, Nick, Brian, and Howie cautiously hurried into the room and saw what had happened; Kevin had thrown a cooking pot at a window. The window was cracked, but it wasn't much. The pot lay on the floor nearby.

“Are these bullet proof windows?” Kevin heaved, picking up the pot again and hurling it with all his might. It bounced off the window, hit the floor and rolled over to AJ's feet. Another small crack in the glass. “Fuck!” Kevin screamed.

Nick flinched and moved closer to Howie. Kevin rushed by them into the foyer. They heard more banging. They observed as the oldest of the group kicked relentlessly, angrily, at the heavy wooden door. Thud. Thud. _Thud_. Cursing. Thud. Bang. More cursing.

“Kevin, it's not going to work,” Brian said. He approached the older man and gently touched his shoulder. Kevin paused his next kick and looked over at his cousin.

“Well, then what do you suggest?”

“I don't know. Maybe there's an ax or hammer or something in the basement we can crack through the door in order to get out.”

Kevin calmed, slightly, and nodded, still tense.

“I'll go look,” he said.

“I'll come with you,” Brian said. He glanced at the others. “Y'all just relax, me n' Kev will take care of this.”

As the cousins wandered down into the basement, Howie looked at the two youngest.

“It's gonna be okay,” Howie said reassuringly. “You guys do one last sweep and make sure you have everything. Nicky, you know you always forget your Gameboy somewhere.”


End file.
